Deep Waters
by Junamrsgrl
Summary: Sokka catches Toph attempting to teach herself how to swim in the middle of the night...and learns a few things about them both.
1. Chapter 1

_**Takes place somewhere in early-ish Book 3...**_

* * *

Toph stood at the mouth of the little bay not far from their campsite and expelled a frustrated growl. In the dark, Momo tilted his head at the sound and cooed at her questioningly. She stared sightlessly out over the calm surface and clenched her fists. It was the middle of the night; between Sokka's inconsistent snoring and Aang's occasional sleep-mumbling, no one would ever notice her slipping away. And that wasn't even taking Appa's grunting into consideration. It was beyond her how they all fell asleep nightly. Actually, she mused, when you came right down to it, it was beyond her how they'd avoided being snuck up on, considering the ruckus this group made. Or at least how they'd avoided it before she'd joined them anyway. With her unique ability to sense even the tiniest vibrations in the ground, she could 'hear' movement miles away. Often times a blessing, sometimes a curse, it had saved their lives on more than one occasion.

And it was the crux of her problem now.

Even though she'd never been in the habit of letting her physical limitations deter her before and she would die before admitting it, when it came to some situations she truly was a prisoner to her blindness and there was just no outmaneuvering it. Water was one of those situations.

Ever since that incident at the Serpent's Pass, she had promised herself that she would learn how to swim, no matter how long it took her. After all, everyone else could swim. And Aang had told her once, in an effort to make her feel better, that it was hard to swim with your eyes open anyway so he was sure she could do it, probably better than any of them. He'd even offered to try and teach her the basics, which she'd flat out refused. Having to own up to a weakness was one thing; demonstrating it firsthand was another altogether. Even if it was to the Avatar, who happened to be one of her best friends.

Although if she was being honest with herself, her inability to swim hadn't even been the most humiliating aspect of that particular situation, as she recalled how she had mistaken Suki for Sokka. Even now it still caused her cheeks to heat up a little bit as she remembered how Suki had laughed it off when she had basically inadvertently admitted to her little crush on Sokka. Looking back on it now, she was relieved it _had _been Suki rather than Sokka, but great spirits, it was disheartening to unwittingly share information like that with the object of your crush's affection. And even more so to be laughed at, like there was no possibility that he could ever want...that they could ever be...

Beside her, Momo shifted his weight and gave another short questioning trill. In answer, Toph glared in the direction of his movement and said, "You'd better be keeping this between you, me and this beach, Momo. I don't need Twinkletoes or worse, Miss Water Queen herself finding out about this."

Momo let out an indignant cry, as if he was insulted. Toph ignored Momo's annoyed response and moved closer to the water's edge. This was the hardest part- actually forcing herself to leave the comfort of the steady soil beneath her feet and take that first plunge into the water. She'd been able to make herself do it a few times before after some internal struggle, but she still hadn't become accustomed to the way it affected her sight. The ground was still there beneath the water, a feeling for which she was immensely grateful, but the water...muted her connection to it somehow. It was like walking on...a sponge- it was firm, yet squishy. Vibrations weren't sharp, or reliable. It felt like she was feeling things through a great big bowl of pudding. That was strange, but when she lifted her feet even just to wade out farther in the shallows- that was when the real fear came. With no direct contact to the earth, it literally felt as if she was stepping off of a precipice blindfolded. She'd been blind all her life, and never truly been able to appreciate how it felt until now. It made her heart race and her breath catch in her tight chest. So far, she hadn't been able to progress any farther than waist deep, which really wasn't all that far when one considered how short she was.

But tonight, she promised herself, clenching her fists again, was different. Tonight she wasn't going to take no for an answer. When she was limited to practicing depending on how close they camped to water, she had to take advantage of it. And besides, she was Toph Bei Fong- afraid of nothing and it was time she remembered it, she thought stubbornly as she stripped off her tunic and dropped it to the ground, leaving her in nothing but her underclothing.

Though it made no discernible difference to her, she closed her eyes before taking a deep breath and bringing her right foot into contact with the cool, waiting water.

Sokka woke out of a sound sleep and sat up alertly, startled by something he couldn't name, and grasped the knife he kept by him at all times in case they were ambushed while they slept. The hair on the back of his neck prickled and he looked keenly about the campsite, trying to figure out what had woken him.

Beside him, Katara slept peacefully and beyond her, Aang slumbered fitfully, mumbling words Sokka couldn't quite make out. Appa breathed rhythmically next to him, undisturbed. He looked to his left and realized that Toph, usually snoring lightly beside him, was nowhere to be found and the night around him seemed odd, just because of that lack of familiar noise. He knew a moment of panic- had she been kidnapped? He grasped his knife a little tighter, unsure of whether to scout things out or wake the others to help look for her. After he'd thought about it for a minute, he realized that Momo was gone too and it wasn't altogether impossible that she'd been unable to sleep and taken Momo for a little bit of night exploring. He relaxed slightly; nothing appeared out of sorts except for his missing companions. Still, it would make him feel better to know that she was safe. He may not be a bender, but as the oldest and a warrior besides, he took his duty to protect this little group seriously. He may have started on this journey with only his sister to protect, but he'd gained an entire family along the way and their safety was now just as necessary to him too.

He was getting to his feet and putting his hair up when he heard the sound of water splashing from nearby. They hadn't camped near a waterfall, but the bay was directly to their right. The sound was too big to be a fish...had Toph gone to the beach? But...why would she do that? She couldn't swim. He heard a little more splashing and worried again- what if she had intended to just sit near the water and somehow fallen in, and even now was fighting the water dragging her to the bottom? He couldn't stand it; his instinct told him that the splashing was related to Toph's absence and he trusted it. He grabbed his boomerang in addition to his knife, just in case, and ran toward the sound of the water.

Toph resurfaced, sputtering water out of her mouth and sucking in a huge gulp of air as she cursed violently. The ground under this particular bay was uneven, probably because they were so close to the Fire Nation with all of its volcanic rock, and she'd come across a drastic dip in the terrain where she'd promptly lost her balance and fallen into the crater face-first. For a terrifying moment, she'd thought that was the end of her. She could only think that she'd gone in too far, and _nobody knew she was out here_. Then she realized that she was standing in a giant hole, and even standing in the giant hole, her head was still above the water. That made her feel stupid, which made her curse even more.

"Stupid freaking water. Dumbest element ever," she grumbled, purposely ignoring the fact that it wasn't actually the water to blame, as she backed up a few steps to try and find the higher ground again.

From his perch on the tree near her tunic, Momo gave another questioning trill.

"Oh shut up, Momo. Who asked you anyway?" Toph muttered. She pushed the wet strands of her hair out of her face, annoyed that now her hair was soaked. She hadn't been planning on actually going _underwater_ tonight. She used her hands to help pull herself out of the hole when she found the edge and sat down on her bottom in the surf to regroup. The water was less than knee-high in this area, and the waves gently rolled past her waist in a completely non-threatening manner.

After a few minutes of deep breathing to calm her racing heart down, she got to her feet and carefully made her way back into the shallows. She concentrated on feeling her way carefully around the deep gouge in the earth that she now knew was just sitting there waiting for innocent bystanders to fall into it, determined not to give up so easily.

Sokka reached the beach just in time to see Toph emerge from the water in the moonlight, spitting and coughing and swearing with words he'd had no idea she'd even known. He'd seen her disappear abruptly below the surface, but had been too far back to do anything about it. As he came closer, he realized that she wasn't actually in any danger- she'd obviously just lost her balance. He wanted to call out to her, but just then Momo chattered at her antics.

"Oh shut up, Momo. Who asked you anyway?" he thought he heard her say in a sulky tone. Her response had him smiling in spite of himself, and rethinking his actions. He knew Toph was proud; she was clearly in command of the situation, or at least as much as was possible for her, and had no need for his worries. Biting his tongue now would save him a bruise on the arm later, he rationalized.

He watched in confusion for a minute as she back-tracked her steps, feeling the ground beneath her with her hands. She crawled up out of what was obviously an unexpected deep spot and sat, letting the waves roll over her lap. He sat quietly, not wanting to draw her attention and most likely her ire.

At first he would just stay nearby to make sure if she got in any trouble he would be able to help, he thought. As he sat there and thought about it though, how irresponsible of her was it not to let someone know she would be here in the first place- what if she_ did_ need help and no one knew she was here? He really ought to tell her so, he thought, feeling more justified with each passing second.

He stood up and bent to remove his shoes and trousers; he'd left camp so quickly he'd forgotten to put his tunic on. He dropped his weapons on top of the pile and stalked down to the water's edge. Momo, sensing his presence chattered happily at him, garnering Toph's distracted attention.

"Who's there?" She asked menacingly, turning her body in the direction of Momo's chattering.

"Oh thanks a lot, Momo," Sokka muttered under his breath. "I had a plan."

"Twinkletoes, is that you?" she demanded in a less threatening, if no less agitated, voice. She had gone stock still and he could see her face in the moonlight, dripping from her wet hair. Even through her bravado he could see the slightest bit of worry on her face. She shifted tensely, testing the air with her sense of sound.

Well, Sokka thought, there was nothing for it now.

"Toph, I can't believe you snuck away in the middle of the night just to go for a swim," he said evenly as he crossed his arms for no one's particular benefit. He knew full well she couldn't swim. "You could have at least invited me."

She froze; her mouth dropped open the slightest bit, and he thought that she had gone visibly paler, though that could have been a trick of the light.

"Go away, Sokka," she finally demanded in a low voice that brooked no argument.

He deliberated on the beach for a moment, wondering whether he should address her pride or tell the truth. Instinct told him that he was wading in dangerous waters whichever path he chose, though he couldn't for the life of him say why.

"Can't do it, Toph. Sorry," he finally said simply as he uncrossed his arms and stepped in the water. She did not look happy with him. She looked like she wanted to earthbend him into next year actua...suddenly it hit him how cold the water was.

"Aaaagghhh!" Sokka shouted, jumping back instinctively. "Spirits, Toph- this water is freezing!

"Shut up you big lunkhead!" Toph hissed. "Are you trying to wake everyone up?"

"Sorry!" he whispered in a loud voice, still trying to get over the chill of the water. She still looked less than thrilled that he had found her.

She plopped back down on her bottom in the shallow water and hung her head in defeat. He sucked it up and stepped back into the cold water with a grimace and moved slowly towards her, feeling the bottom carefully with his feet since he couldn't see anything under the surface in the dark. He almost tripped a couple of times- the ground under the water was surprisingly firm, rather than sandy, which made it slick. Being a man of science, he cringed to think about what exactly it was that made the rock feel so slimy.

When he reached Toph, the water was still just below his knees. He hated the thought of sitting on that slippery, slimy rock, but it didn't look like Toph was too interested in getting up; her head was still bowed, the ends of her wet hair swirling around in the water as the tide pushed and pulled rhythmically. He grumbled mentally, but Toph looked so dejected that all the fight left him. He eased himself down beside her, stifling a yelp as the cold water splashed his bare torso.

Toph said nothing. For a minute, they sat in silence as Sokka adjusted to the water. He stared at the pattern the moonlight cast on the pulsating surface of the water and thought about Yue and about how they hadn't even known Toph then. His time with Yue had been so fleeting, and it seemed like it was a lifetime ago. On the other hand, right now, it felt like he'd known Toph all his life.

He glanced at her still form and noticed some moisture dripping down the cheek he could see. He didn't bring it up; he could sense that she was already distressed by this whole thing and besides, Toph didn't cry. He also suspected that to accuse her of such a thing would earn him another bruise, or worse, she might actually use her bending to teach him a lesson. Given the strange surface of the beach and his lack of knowledge on how it would affect her bending, he decided it might be best to just let it pass.

After another moment of silence between them, he turned his head slightly in her direction and said softly, "Why didn't you just ask me for help, Toph? You know I wouldn't have made fun of you." He swirled his hand idly in the water, reflecting that the parts of his body that were underwater actually felt warmer than the air now that he was acclimated, as he waited for her response.

She gave a little huff and reached up to push a wet strand of her out of her face. "I don't need your help, Ponytail," she said shortly. Sokka didn't respond, but she could still hear the swirling sounds he was making in the water.

The truth was she hadn't asked for his help because if she wanted to admit her weakness to _anyone_, it definitely wasn't him. He would never see her as anything other than a short blind girl anyway; she didn't need to give him more of a reason to dismiss her so readily. Still, he wouldn't be sitting out here in this cold water if he hadn't been worried about her, at the very least.

In a softer tone, she continued, "But thanks anyway."

"Alright," he said after a minute had passed, and Toph heard the sound of water slapping as Sokka stood up. "Suit yourself," he said nonchalantly as he made a show of splashing back in the direction of the shore. He had no intention of leaving the beach without Toph, but if she was determined to do this on her own, he could back off. Or at least make her think he was anyway.

"No, wait!" Toph shouted, jumping to her feet quicker than he would have thought possible from her position in the water. Sokka grinned to himself but didn't say anything. He turned back around to face her and was momentarily taken aback. He hadn't really thought about it when he'd stripped to his own undergarments; it was just what you did when you went swimming. And in her sitting position, he really hadn't even been able to tell what she was wearing. Hadn't even considered it. He supposed that the linen shift was nothing more than a functional undergarment most of the time...but when it was wet, and plastered to her small frame so he could clearly see the outline of her every curve in the soft moonlight, functionality flew out the window.

_ How did she hide that? _He thought irrationally, wondering why all of a sudden his mouth seemed so dry. He opened his mouth to speak, but couldn't find his voice right away.

Toph mistook his silence and hurried to qualify her outburst, which she was pretty sure had sounded desperate. "I mean, y'know. Since you're already here, you might as well stay," she said in her most cocky voice, and crossed her arms.

"Wha..? Stay. Yes," he mumbled to himself, still unable to tear his eyes away from the vision she made and feeling guiltier with every passing second. Guilty because, well, this was Toph, and she wasn't his sister...but she was, kinda. He should definitely not be looking at her like _that_. And besides, there was Suki.

"What'd you say? I can't hear you way over there," she said loudly. "Are you gonna teach me to swim or what?"

Sokka shook his head, clearing it. "Yeah, teach you to swim. I can do that!" he said overenthusiastically, hoping that they could head out to deeper waters quickly so he could stop thinking about Toph in this way that he never had before. In a way that was confusing him, and he was sure would bother her, if she only knew.

Thinking that was an excellent plan, he averted his eyes and walked farther out, expecting her to join him. When he got about chest deep, he realized that Toph was still standing there, looking vaguely in the direction of the splashing that he must have been making.

"What are you _doing_, Sokka?" she asked, in obvious confusion.

_Oh right. Blind. _Sokka mentally kicked himself and headed back in her direction, nearly falling face first into the hole he'd seen her disappear into earlier.

As he got closer he kept his eyes firmly trained on her face, which in the shadows of the moon's illumination had even taken on an ethereal quality, causing him to literally view her in a completely different light.

As he splashed his way over to her, he said, "Hold out your hand, Toph. We have to go a little farther out."

She hesitated, the worried look coming back to her angelic looking features. "Farther out?" she questioned, her anxiety easy to detect over her earlier bravado.

"Don't worry. I won't let you float away," Sokka said, grabbing her hand and chuckling at his own joke. She stood immobile, her hand in his; Sokka waited.

"Y'know," Toph finally said quietly, "I've never really minded being blind before. It's never stopped me from doing what I really wanted to do, or gotten in the way."

When it didn't seem like she was going to continue with her train of thought, Sokka prompted her.

"But...?"

"This is really scary, Sokka," she whispered, revealing a split second of real vulnerability. He wondered if she was talking about learning how to swim, or something more.

"Don't you trust me, Toph?" he asked simply. "I wouldn't hurt you, and I wouldn't let anyone else either."

"I do trust you!" she said vehemently, dropping Sokka's hand. "I trust you all. More than I ever thought I would. More than my parents even, and I've known them all my life! But...you guys aren't my family, not my real family. I don't even know what you look like," she said dejectedly. "And now I can't even learn how to swim. I've never felt so blind, or hated being blind so much in my life."

Sokka stood there for a moment, considering what she'd just revealed. When it seemed like she had said all that she wanted to say, he reached wordlessly for her hand.

"Sokka, what are you _doing_?" Toph asked again, in confusion.

"First," he said, bring her captive hand to his cheek, "I'm showing you what I look like. Then, you're going to learn how to swim."

* * *

**A/N: So this is my first Avatar: The Last Airbender fanfic. It's obviously Tokka- I basically wrote it because I love these characters to death and would love to spend all my free time reading fanfic about them, but so far not much I've come across on FFNet has satisfied my picky nature. I love them together with just a hint of something more, so this is my stab at it. I tried to keep them as 'in-character' as much as possible, hopefully I was mostly successful at it.  
**

**I don't own any of the characters; if I did I would have found a way to drag it all out way longer than 3 seasons.**

** The only thing I do own is the memory of the beach Toph and Sokka are contending with- it's based on an actual beach on the island of modern-day Santorini that I visited once. Santorini, once called Thera in ancient times, used to be a circular island in the Aegean Sea. During the Bronze Age (1600 BCE or so), the volcano that resides there blew, sinking half of the island into the ocean, and covering everything else with huge deposits of ash. It was, and remains still, one of the most devastating volcanic eruptions to date. Now, 3400 years later, evidence of this cataclysmic event can still be seen in the black pebble beaches that surround the island. Below the water, the rock is literally that: hardened lava from that long ago eruption, pitted brutally. The hole that inspired the one both Toph and Sokka fell into is real; I fell into it face-first myself. It seems likely that the land in and around the Fire Nation is probably very similar, which is why I used it here.**

**Hope you enjoyed the story and the mini-history lesson. Haven't decided yet if I will leave this as a one-shot or expand on it...Please review :)**


	2. Chapter 2

Toph stood frozen, her breath trapped in her chest as Sokka clutched her hand to his face, and for a moment it seemed like time stopped. The tide seemingly ceased and nothing made a sound in the early morning air. He watched her expression closely as it flitted through several stages, beginning with obvious confusion and settling on...shock, maybe? Her mouth had dropped open slightly and in the pale glow of the moon he thought her cheeks appeared a bit darker; was she blushing? Sokka was privately amused that she seemed, for once in her life, to be speechless. He waited expectantly for her to begin mapping his features with her tiny hands, or even just to say something, but after a few seconds she snapped her mouth shut and abruptly snatched her hand from his cheek as if she had been burned. A small piece of him was disappointed- strange though it might have been, he _wanted_ her to know what he looked like. Needed her to suddenly, when he'd never given the matter a single thought before. He pointedly ignored the little voice that told him that her hand on his face didn't feel as strange as it should. That it actually felt...kind of nice.

"You don't have to do that, Sokka," she mumbled, turning away from him as she retracted her hand. Sokka let his hand drop to his side with a frown, wondering if he had done something to offend her. She stood facing vaguely in the direction of the shore, away from him, and remained that way for an indeterminate length of time. He cast a glance up toward the full moon as if beseeching her for an answer, or maybe reassurance. Suddenly he became aware of how much colder it felt now that he was no longer sitting in the surf, and the wet parts of him were exposed to the cool air. He gave a little involuntary shiver.

With no warning, he was assaulted by a splash of frigid water. He turned frantically, looking for its source (_had Katara woken up and discovered them?_), to see Toph standing several feet farther away from him than she had been minutes ago, no longer a picture of solemnity but giggling maniacally as fresh water dripped from the sleeves of her shift.

"To-oph!" Sokka shouted. "What was that for?" He gave his now wet hair a shake, followed by a swipe of his hand to remove the strands that had stubbornly plastered themselves to his face.

"What's the matter Princess, can't handle a little water? No wonder you left the South Pole!" she taunted, hands on her hips and with no hint of rancor.

Sokka immediately scoffed in mock outrage. "Oh that's it, you little earthworm; you're gonna get it now!"

He didn't need to be a bender to know that he could give back whatever she dished out. He crouched down toward the shallow water and leaned back slightly, trying to get as much leverage as he could. With a thrust of his arm and as much power behind it as he could muster, he skimmed just under the surface of the bay, sending a torrent of water in an unsuspecting Toph's direction.

He grinned unabashedly as he first saw her go rigid, and then heard her say, "Sokka, what are you- SOKKA!" She shrieked as a veritable wave hit her straight in the face. He stood back up and crossed his arms, a smug smile on his face.

"Not so tough now, are you Toph?" he gloated. "Can't handle a little water?" He snickered heartily, using her own taunt against her.

"Ohhh...you're gonna pay for that one," she said in a low, playful voice.

"Oh, yeah?" he asked, mocking her good naturedly and enjoying the show as she wrung her hair out. "First you're gonna have to catch me. I'll give you a hint- I'm over here."

With that he flicked a hand across the surface once more, sending a smaller spray of water toward her.

"Sokka, don't even thi-" Toph began warningly, taking a step back as if she could outrun the inevitable, and yelping in surprise when she was drenched with a fresh blast of water. She held her hands up defensively seconds too late, and Sokka smirked once more in satisfaction at the indignation he saw on her face, which was glistening in the full moonlight now. She stood there, with her shift sticking to her in unlikely places that he couldn't help but notice, and her arms poised in mid-air out to either side as she sputtered in disbelief.

"Oh, you are _dead_ now, Ponytail," she promised.

It never occurred to her to try and use bending, and he never thought to consider that she might. Right now, they were just two teenagers reveling in each other's company for a few stolen moments. It didn't matter that they were in the middle of a war, wanted collectively by the Fire Nation, just weeks away from Sozin's Comet...and whatever came after it. Right now, there was nothing but Sokka, Toph and a whole lot of water, in the dead of night...two friends discovering the kind of things about one another that just couldn't be done with words alone.

She launched herself in the general direction that the last spray of water had come from, laughing when the water and her soaked, cumbersome shift slowed her progress. Sokka yelped as Toph used her hands, flailing wildly, to bombard him with spray from as many directions as possible. He retaliated in kind, stumbling backward in his attempt to retreat and drawing her farther and farther out of the shallow water in the process. She was gaining steadily on him despite the water's resistance, and he was just enjoying the sight of Toph being so carefree and unfettered in her quest to best him; he hadn't forgotten her whispered fears, but watching her now, one might think that _she_ had.

As she got closer still, water up to her waist now, he laughed and fell back in the water, allowing himself to float on the surface. He used his feet to propel him out farther into the bay, with the added bonus of sending another onslaught of water in Toph's direction. She threw her arms up to shield her face just in time when she heard him start kicking and paused momentarily, having trouble breathing from laughing so hard.

Sokka stopped kicking after a moment and just lay there, floating on his back, eyes closed and enjoying the direction his abrupt awakening had taken. He couldn't remember being so relaxed or having this much _fun_ since he'd left the South Pole. He'd known even then that their lives were going to be forever altered, with the discovery of the Avatar, but he never could have guessed in just how many ways- for better and for worse. He floated lazily along the surface, almost forgetting his purpose in this place, at this time, as he mentally catalogued the incredible chain of events that had led him here.

"Sokka...?" Toph's tremulous voice broke through his reverie, pulled him back to the present. "Are you still here?" The half-whispered words, rife with trepidation, tore at his heart as he realized that he'd forgotten her impairment, again. Spirits, she didn't act like someone who could see nothing; how was he supposed to remember that she was? He supposed it _would_ seem like he had just abandoned her when he wasn't making any noise in the water and she couldn't see him.

"Over here, Toph," he said softly, not wanting to startle her. For emphasis he splashed a little with his right hand. She jerked her head in the direction of the noise and exhaled noisily out of relief.

Sokka found the bottom of the bay with his feet; he couldn't believe how far out they'd gone. The water easily came to Toph's chest- she was holding her arms out to either side along the surface of the water cautiously, as if she feared she might lose her balance and go under.

"Sokka, I think you need to come over here." She paused for a few seconds. "We're out too far and I'm kind of freaking out," Toph stated matter-of-factly.

He gave her a wary look that was totally lost on her, but she looked genuinely distressed so he closed the distance between them. As he came to a stop a few feet from her, her left arm shot out and connected with his upper shoulder, the force behind it like a rock.

"OW!" Sokka shouted, rubbing the spot where she'd punched him. "What was that for?" he exclaimed.

"Don't ever do that again, jerkface," Toph said solemnly, leaving no confusion as to what she was referring to.

Sokka glared at her, annoyed that she had punched him, even more because he probably deserved it. He mumbled a few words under his breath.

"What was that?" Toph asked in a sweetly exaggerated voice, suggesting that she'd heard every word.

Sokka rolled his eyes and made a face at her, just because he could.

"Alright Water Princess, which way is it to shore? There's no swimming going on here and I'm starting to get pruny," Toph stated.

Sokka put a hand on both of her shoulders and turned her about ninety degrees to his left. He found himself staring at the shadows being made by the way the moon played across her neck; it was distracting to say the least. She stiffened when his hands touched the bare skin of her shoulders...or was he imagining that? Despite the coolness of the water still clinging, her skin felt hot to his touch, and softer than he ever would have guessed. Disturbed by his own train of thought, he dropped his hands back to his sides, dipped them in the water- as if doing so would erase the warmth, and the uncomfortable awareness, he'd felt just seconds ago.

"There you go, Toph. That way for those who can't hack it," he remarked, wondering even as he said it if he should continue to prolong this. He was seriously starting to question his own motives for keeping her out here.

She turned back in his direction sharply, swinging her arms around with her and nearly taking Sokka's head off in the process; he leaned back out of the way just in time to avoid contact, but he could still feel the breeze generated by the arc of her arm.

"Excuse me?" she questioned him, offended. "Maybe if you wanted to actually show me how to do something useful, instead of just playing in this puddle..."

Sokka chuckled and shook his head; only Toph could describe the sea as a puddle and get away with it.

"Alright, look..." he said, crossing his arms, bringing his hand to his chin and thinking about it for a moment. "Let's start here. Before you can swim, you need to learn how to float...and that means, you've got to take your feet off the ocean floor," Sokka told her.

"But I won't even know where I am, or which way I'm going," she protested weakly, knowing that she had no choice if she really wanted to learn how to swim.

"Toph, you're just gonna have to trust me," he said simply, having figured out that this, out of everything, was her biggest fear in this situation.

Toph took a deep breath, steadying herself, and said in a positively grim voice, "Alright then, let's just do it and get it over with." She held her arms out front of her in a hesitant invitation, not entirely sure what Sokka was going to do next.

He took a steadying breath himself before approaching her.

"Ok, I'm going to tell you what I'm going to do before I actually do it, alright?" he asked.

She nodded and exhaled deeply. "I'm ready."

"First, we'll start with floating on your back. I'm going to put one hand on your back, and the other one on your shoulder, ok? All you have to do is pick your feet up off of the ground."

"Piece of cake," she hedged, unable to completely conceal her anxiety.

"Ok, good. Here goes, then," he said as he stepped right up to her and placed his right hand on the small of her back and his left hand on her left shoulder securely. He thought she went stiff again as his hand grazed the sensitive area on her back, but she said nothing so he continued.

"Ok, good," he reassured her. "Now go ahead and lift your feet up when you're ready. I'm going to keep my hands where they are for now."

He waited a few seconds, which turned into several seconds, and finally a full minute before saying, "Aaaa-ny time now."

Toph had a look of utter concentration on her face and for once, she ignored his jibe. He watched her, anticipating her movement so that he could support her securely. Her body was extremely tense and after another few seconds passed, she relaxed and pushed his hand off her shoulder.

"Nope," she said. "Not happening."

Sokka removed his hand from her back, appreciating the curve of it as he did so, with no small amount of guilt. If he had any sense, he'd give this up right now.

"What happened?" he asked.

A muscle in her jaw worked as he waited for an answer; finally she said, "Don't know. Guess I'm just not ready."

Exasperated, he stepped back and chewed on his lip while he considered the next course of action. He could think of _one_ way to get her feet off the ground...and she literally wouldn't see it coming. Then again, she might never speak to him again. _Ah well, talk was overrated anyway_, he thought as he made his decision.

"Hey, Toph- hold on," he said offhandedly as he hooked one arm under her right shoulder and the other under the mass of wet shift at her knees, knocking her feet out from under her in one swift motion.

Toph screamed and flailed her arms until they found the solidity of Sokka's neck and shoulder, which she clung to tenaciously in her panic.

"It's nice to be wanted, Toph, but I kind of need air," Sokka quipped in a raspy voice, Toph's grip on his neck like a band of iron.

Breathing erratically and attempting to stifle the stabbing pains in her chest, she relaxed marginally once she realized what had happened and that she was safely in Sokka's arms, not floating away on the tide or being swallowed by the endless expanse of water.

"I'm going to give you exactly four seconds to explain why you just did that before I earthbend you into a permanent Fire Nation fixture," Toph said, trying for calm when her heart was still racing and her blood rushing in her ears.

"Well, it got your feet off of the ground," he pointed out helpfully.

As the adrenaline began to subside, she became aware that she was clutching Sokka's bare shoulders; she could feel his hair brushing the backs of her hands (_so it was on the long side...) _and the heat emanating from his upper body. She fought the urge to let go completely and went stone still- the only thing scarier than Sokka finding out about her crush was being dropped back in the water.

"Are you ok, Toph?" he asked, wondering why she stiffened up every time he touched her.

"Can you just put me down, Sokka? Please?" Toph asked in an uncharacteristically quiet voice.

He gave her a quizzical glance, but set her down gently, neither one letting go until her feet were firmly planted on the uneven ground. He didn't say anything; her talkative, playful mood seemed to have evaporated. The familiar camaraderie from earlier in the evening had evolved into a tense, wary kind of apprehension- one that grew as minutes ticked by in complete silence on both parts. Toph seemed to be mulling something over in her head, reluctance warring with her natural impetuosity. Sokka sensed that whatever she had to say was important, to her at the very least...it made him curious.

He could tell that he would never know though, once her expression shuttered. It was not something she felt comfortable sharing apparently.

"I'm pretty tired," Toph lied and feigned a yawn. "I need to get some beauty sleep. Thanks for the lesson, Sokka." Her tone was impassive now, no longer teasing. He watched her intensely, thinking she might give something away, but after a moment of silence she said, "So, uh...which way is the beach?"

Slightly aggravated and a little hurt that she would keep secrets from him, but not in any position to do anything about it, he took her hand and said, "Follow me." He'd thought they were better friends than that.

Once they'd reached the point where the water was just below Toph's waist, he reluctantly let go of her hand and said, "Just keep walking straight- you'll hit the beach eventually. Watch out for holes."

She didn't head for the beach right away, but stood near him with her head bowed. He wondered if she would change her mind and tell him what was bothering her; it seemed bigger than just learning how to swim, or not being able to, but he couldn't define how- to his growing frustration.

"Seriously, Sokka- thanks for trying," Toph finally said quietly. "I appreciate it."

Disappointed at her words, he tried for cheerful. "No problem, anytime. Same time tomorrow?" he asked, simultaneously trying not to sound hopeful and mentally kicking himself.

Toph's cheeks colored again slightly and she said, "NO! I mean, I'm not sure about this whole swimming thing. I think maybe I ought to ask Katara, or Aang...maybe having a waterbender teach me would be easier? I mean, it's been fun and all, minus falling into a huge hole, but that really wasn't your fault...but uh, thanks anyway..." she trailed off, a strange expression on her face.

Sokka arched an eyebrow at her rambling words- he'd never known Toph to sound so unsure of herself, or well...nervous. Like she couldn't get away from him fast enough. She kind of sounded the way he thought he did around Yue. And Suki sometimes. Like he couldn't make his mouth work right.

"Well, I guess I'll see you back at camp," she said quickly and turned for the beach. As she exited the water, she said reverently, "Ahhhh, thank the spirits- land sweet land!"

She made her way unerringly over to where she'd unceremoniously dumped her tunic and picked it up, slinging it over her shoulder. He heard her chuckle to herself, and called back to him from the shadow of a fire palm, "Don't forget to bring Momo back with you!" On that note, she turned and made her way back toward the camp.

He watched her retreating figure from his place in the shallow water until he could see her no longer. When a passing cloud obscured the moon and cast darkness over the bay, he shook his head as if coming out of a dream. He suddenly felt foolish and very juvenile, standing alone in the water. With Toph gone, the oddness of the situation struck him- who goes swimming in the middle of the night? He decided he'd better get himself back to camp and get his own beauty sleep- it was back to real life tomorrow, and who knew what would happen over the course of the day? He needed to be ready for anything.

He left the water and headed toward his trousers. They seemed to form a larger pile than what one pair of pants normally would...they also appeared to have a tail all of a sudden. He reached down and poked the pile cautiously; the fabric cooed, confirming his suspicions. Momo popped his head out and chattered at Sokka sleepily before laying his head back down, apparently unconcerned that his bed consisted of Sokka's only pair of pants in the near vicinity.

Sokka sighed and sat down on a nearby rock, no longer in any rush to get back to camp. He drew his knees up to his chest and rested his elbows there as he watched the moonlight play across the waves lapping at the beach. He would wait to go back to camp until he was sure Toph had fallen asleep. Tomorrow, he imagined, things between them would seem back to normal- there would be none of the awkward speech or thick silences or...awareness that he had felt in her presence tonight. He was nearly as thankful for it as he was reluctant to let it go.

If the moon held any opinion, or reserved any kind of judgment, she wisely kept her own counsel as she watched tirelessly over the solitary figure on the beach below. He had more than enough to think on tonight.

* * *

**A/N: Firstly, thank you all so much for your wonderful reviews and words of support and encouragement on the first half of this story...I hope that this installment, which I wrote against my better judgment (for fear of messing up a good thing), measures up to your expectations. Nearly all of you wanted me to continue this story, and since the ending of the last chapter turned out differently than even I had intended at the time, I decided to attempt to give it a little more closure (as was my original intention). I've tried to keep the tone of the two chapters and the words/actions of the characters consistent; you will be the judge.**

**I know that some of you may find this ending underwhelming or disappointing...I really wanted this story to mesh within the confines of the story that already exists, and lets face it folks- as much as we may want it to happen, in Mike & Bryan's world, Toph and Sokka just aren't meant to be. But hey, that's why there's fanfic :) There's no rule saying I can't break a couple rules in a different story...we'll see. **

**I hope you enjoyed and that you'll take the time to review whether you loved it or hated it. Thanks again!**


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